A bipartisan duo of U.S. lawmakers have proposed a bill that aims to bring greater transparency for child protective services.
Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) have introduced the bill which they believe will enhance transparency and improve outcomes for children involved with Child Protective Services (CPS) across the country.
The Generate Recordings of All Child Protective Interviews Everywhere (GRACIE) Act would require the recording of forensic interviews in child welfare cases to ensure a higher level of accountability and support for vulnerable children, including those within Georgia’s Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS).
The bill comes on the heels of a 2024 report from the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights, led by Ossoff, which revealed alarming findings regarding Georgia’s foster care system. The report uncovered that DFCS failed to make adequate efforts to address safety risks for children both in their homes and while in foster care. The report found that 84% of reviewed cases lacked proper initial assessments of risks and safety concerns.
Under the GRACIE Act, a new federal grant program would be established through the U.S. Department of Justice to cover the costs associated with conducting and storing interview recordings. States would be eligible for this funding only if they mandate the recording of all child welfare forensic interviews—whether through audio recordings, body camera footage or other methods.
“We can never do enough to support vulnerable children in Georgia and across the country,” Ossoff said. “Senator Blackburn and I are introducing this new bipartisan bill to strengthen transparency in State child protective agencies and help States better fund their operations.”
Blackburn agreed and reiterated her Democratic colleague’s sentiment.
“Children are often silenced by their abusers, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure that does not happen,” Blackburn said. “The GRACIE Act would help give more children a voice, increase domestic violence reporting, and strengthen the foster care system.”
This isn’t the only instance of the Georgia senator reaching across the aisle since he was elected.
Last October, Ossoff and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the bipartisan Foster Care Placement Transparency Act, which would require states to report incidents in which children are separated from their parents and placed with caregivers informally.
As Chairman of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, Ossoff also led a 13-month investigation into the safety of foster children, releasing a detailed report last year that exposed widespread abuse and neglect within Georgia’s foster care system, including the problematic issue of “hidden foster care” placements.
